LONDON, June 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) nations converged in London on Thursday for a one-day meeting to prepare the ground for the G8 summit in Scotland next month.

    According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is hosting the meeting slated to open at 10:00 a.m. local time (1000 GMT).

    The Middle East, drug production in Afghanistan and concern over Iran's nuclear program are to top the agenda at the meeting of G8 foreign ministers, the BBC reported.

    Rebuilding Afghanistan is expected to feature heavily, with Britain due to take over leadership of the peace keeping force there next year, it said.

    The foreign ministers will be briefed on developments in the Middle East by special envoy to the region James Wolfensohn, ahead of the planned Israeli pullout from Gaza.

    Earlier this month, G8 financial ministers gathered in London and agreed to a land mark deal to immediately write off all multilateral debt owed by 18 countries, 14 of them in Africa, amounting to 40 billion US dollars. Enditem